


Here With You, Always

by WrittenFire



Series: Whumptober 2019: Mcdanno Style [11]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Danny takes care of his Steve, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Loopy Steve, M/M, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25986904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrittenFire/pseuds/WrittenFire
Summary: Steve has surgery to remove his tonsils and in his groggy state, wants nothing more than for Danny to stay. Danny, of course, obliges.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Whumptober 2019: Mcdanno Style [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1503434
Comments: 14
Kudos: 174
Collections: H50 Writers Club Discord Challenges, Loopy Steve Challenge





	Here With You, Always

**Author's Note:**

> I have a like for goofy from anesthesia Steve, I guess! He’s a big goof who loves his Danno 💕💕 Another big thank you to piratefalls for the beta! 
> 
> Day 17: Stay With Me

Danny hated this. No matter how many times he found himself in this position, it never got any easier. Sitting in a hospital waiting room while a loved one underwent surgery, no matter how big or small, was a nerve wracking experience that set off his anxiety like no other. The fact that he was here for Steve after this last year of stress was just the icing on the cake.

He could only be grateful, he guessed, that the surgery wasn’t for anything  _ too  _ major. That didn’t make his anxiety lesson, of course, but Danny was looking for the silver lining here. The procedure should be over, soon, at any rate; he was just waiting for the doctor to tell him that it was over, that Steve was in recovery and Danny could go in to see him. 

His leg bounces anxiously, fingers drumming a random beat against his thigh. In an effort to not focus on how long it had been since he had been given an update Danny pulled out his phone, scrolled through his email and deleted any spam messages he came across. By the time the doctor came around again Danny had substantially lowered the number of unread emails in his inbox. Upon hearing the door open Danny locked his phone, head snapping up to see if it was who he had been waiting for. 

Seeing that it was Danny hastily stood, grip tight on his phone, nerves alighting his system as he searched the doctor’s face for the gravity of the news. The smile on the doctor's face is a good sign, but until he can hear the news and see Steve for himself he won’t truly be at ease. 

“Hello, Detective. The Commander’s surgery went smoothly; we were able to remove his tonsils, and he made it through the procedure just fine. He’ll be groggy for a while, and we have a list of things he can and cannot eat. You’ll be able to take him home in a few hours, and—” he checked his watch. “He’ll be ready for visitors in twenty. A nurse will come and bring you back to this room when he’s settled.” 

“Yeah, okay. Thank you for letting me know.” He shook the doctor’s hand, and the breath he released as Danny watched the doctor walk awak felt like the first he’d taken in a long time. Danny dug his phone out, sorting through his message threads for the group chat that Tani had thankfully set up for him before the surgery. 

Tani, Junior, Lou

DW: Doctor just updated; Steve is fine, I’ll be back to see him in 20. Will text you further updates later. 

TG: Thanks, boss. Junes and I stopped by and took Eddie on a walk for you.

LG: Give Steve our love. 

DW: Thanks, kids. And will do Lou.

He slipped his phone back in his pocket, ignoring the vibrations, knowing they would be texts from Tani moaning that they weren’t kids. It was a fun little argument, between the two of them, but right now Danny’s sole focus was on the clock on the wall, counting down the seconds until he could go back to see Steve. Twenty minutes had never felt so long. 

By the time the nurse came to get him, Danny was vibrating in place, flexing his fingers in an attempt to release some of his pent-up nerves. “Family for Steve McGarrett?” She asked—unnecessarily, he thought, as he was the only one in the room. 

“Yeah, uh, yeah that’s me.” Danny answered. 

The nurse smiled. “Alright, go ahead and follow me. He’s starting to wake up, now, and he’s groggy but doing well.” She led them through the hall, down to the last room on the left. “He’ll be ready to leave soon, we just want to be sure he’s coming out of the anesthesia okay.” 

“Thanks,” Danny shot a smile her way, following her into the room. The moment he laid eyes on Steve she became a peripheral thing, a vague idea as his focus zeroed entirely on his best friend. It was an outpatient procedure so he knew it wasn’t something he needed to worry about all that much, but when it came to Steve and his health, Danny didn't think he would ever take it lightly. 

Beelining to the bed he looked Steve over, reaching out and running a gentle hand down his face. The surety of his warm skin, his breath puffing out onto Danny’s hand set him at ease more than the words of the doctor or nurse. He sat in the chair beside the bed and reached for his hand, linking their fingers together and squeezing lightly. So consumed in Steve as he was, Danny failed to notice the expression of utter glee on the nurse’s face, or how she whipped out her phone, fingers flying over the screen as she sent out a message to the other staff in hospital that had dealt with them over the years. 

He hadn’t realized he had fully tuned out his surroundings until he heard the clearing of a throat, the noise drawing his attention to the foot of the bed where the nurse now stood, face clear of any giddiness, replaced by pure professionalism. Danny smiled sheepishly at the woman, well aware that he had tuned out on her mid sentence. "Sorry. Could you uh, repeat that?"

"Not a problem, Detective, I would be happy to." She smiled brightly at him, drawing papers out of the folder in her hands. The nurse gave it a brief perusal before handing it over. "So this is the list of what he'll be able to eat, and some foods we'd like for him to avoid for both his healing and comfort." Another paper made its way into his hands. "These are the care steps that he will need to follow; we have full confidence in your ability to wrangle him into following them to the letter." 

Danny's cheeks flushed, slightly embarrassed by the assumption, but well aware that, after all these years, they knew he would be there for Steve's recovery after all these years. Whenever Steve or Danny were in hospital, the other was hovering nearby, waiting impatiently for updates or sitting by their bedside, bantering when awake and just breathing the same air when asleep. The staff at all hospitals on their island were well accustomed to not only them, but every member of their team. Even those that were new learned quickly. 

“Once he’s conscious long enough for us to get a comfortable read on him, he’ll be able to go home. This go round the anesthesia seems to have kept him knocked out,” She explained, nodding to where Steve still slept before them. “Let us know as soon as he’s awake for longer than a minute, will you?”

“Of course.” Danny hastily assured, waiting until she had left the room to turn once again to Steve. “Wake up so we can go home, Steve.” He squeezed Steve’s hand in his and settled back into his chair to wait for his sleeping beauty to wake. While he waited he looked over the lists, mentally going through what Steve had at the house and what he would need to get. He should probably text one of the kids and ask them to get what they needed, he mused, knowing they would jump on the excuse so that they could see Steve. 

The text has just gone through to the group when the fingers twined with his began to twitch, drawing Danny’s attention up from his phone to Steve’s face. He watched the man's eye lashes flutter, brow furrowing before slowly those wonderful blue eyes opened, slowly darting around the room until they met his. Danny smiled gently at him. “Hey there, sleeping beauty. Welcome back.”

“Mm,” Steve hummed, his frown clearing the longer he looked at Danny. “All done?” 

Danny softly chuckled. “Yeah, babe, you’re ‘all done’. Are you going to stay awake this time?” He asked, already reaching for the remote to alert someone of his awakening. 

“I can.” Steve responded, watching Danny closely. “Hi.” He smiled goofily at Danny and tugged on their joined fingers, trying and failing to bring Danny closer. “You’re here!”

“Of course I’m here, Steven, where else would I be?” Danny asked, and with his free hand reached out and adjusted Steve’s blankets, turning to the door when footsteps reached their ears. 

“Well hello there, Commander, it’s good to see you awake!” The nurse greeted cheerily, stepping around to stand on the free side of Steve’s bed. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’m good,” Steve answered. 

Danny watched them go through the standard after surgery questionnaire, listening as Steve was told everything that Danny had already read on his list. Steve nodded seriously to everything he was told, though Danny wasn’t sure how much of it he would remember. Past experience told him that Steve did not retain things very well when he’d just come to from surgery. But then again, who did?

He had a feeling the nurse had caught on to that, as well, as she had turned to Danny while she finished the spiel. “The doctor will come through in a minute to give him one last exam, but I don’t foresee him keeping the Commander here any longer.” 

“Alright, thanks.” Danny and the nurse exchanged a smile and she left the room, leaving him free to turn his attentions back to Steve. The goof was already looking at him, an almost sombre expression on his face. The effect was ruined by the pout that painted his lips. “What’s up, Steve?” 

Steve lifted their joined hands and shook them at Danny. “Why’re you so friendly when  _ we’re  _ holding hands? Huh, Danno?” Amused affection coursed through Danny, shown in the quirk of his lips.

“Sorry, babe, I’ll try and leave all my friendly for you, huh?” Danny responded and kissed Steve’s hand. The action made Steve’s face light up, that goofy grin that Danny adored making his heart skip a beat. 

“Thank you, Danno.” Steve replied, holding his hand a little tighter. The doctor arrived then, and Danny had to sit through another round of Steve being looked over before finally receiving the happy news that he could take Steve home. Once the doctor had left he helped Steve into his clothes, making sure that all of their things were accounted for and finished the discharge paperwork while a nurse detached Steve from his IVs and helped him into the wheelchair. 

With an assurance that he would meet them at the front Danny handed in the paperwork and made his way down to the parking lot, got in the car, and pulled the car up to the entrance to help Steve into the passenger seat. A last thank you and they were gone, heading back home where the kids were waiting for them, putting away the last of the groceries. Junior came out to greet them, standing around waiting to see if his help was needed to help them in. Tani was inside, holding Eddie back from zipping out to greet Danny and Steve. As always Danny felt a wave of fondness for their two youngest teammates. He let Junior help lead Steve inside to enjoy the goofiness that was his doped-up partner while Danny brought in the medication and paperwork, detouring on his way to the kitchen to greet Eddie and let him know to be easy with Steve for the next couple of days. 

When he finally made his way upstairs with a tray holding Steve's medication, a drink and some food (just in case) on it, he was greeted with the comical sight of Steve sitting propped up against the headboard, pillows stacked behind him and legs stretched out, Eddie sprawled between them with his head resting on Steve's stomach, the man's hands buried in his fur, scratching and petting away. Tani and Junior sat at the end of the bed, leaning into each other as they fought over what they should watch on TV. 

The space left beside Steve at the head of the bed was obviously left open for Danny, who sat closer to the edge so he could leave the tray between him and Steve. 

“How are you feeling, babe?” Danny asked, turning to Steve and looking him over. 

“Mm, got almost all my kids.” Steve whispered as answer, a grin lighting his face. “The big ones and the furry one!” He exclaimed, making Danny laugh and drawing Tani and Junior’s attention. 

“What?” Junior asked, followed almost immediately by Tani’s indignant, “Are you calling us kids again?” 

Danny laughed harder. “He’s just being a goof.” 

“A thirsty goof, Danno.” Steve pouted, drawing Tani’s giggles as well. Danny shook his head, handing over the drink he’d brought up for Steve. “Thank you!” He took it and sipped slowly under Danny’s watchful eye, setting the cup back on the tray and slouching further into the bed. Danny eyed him a moment longer to be sure that he needed nothing else, before turning back to the two at the end of the bed. 

“Did you two decide on something yet or not?” He asked, nodding towards the TV. 

“No, Junes won’t agree with me on anything!” Tani exclaimed, tugging the remote out of Junior’s hands to look through the channels again. The two dissolved into bickering about their available choices again, vividly reminding Danny of him and Steve back when they had first met. He sat and enjoyed their bickering for a time before reaching out and snagging the remote for himself, ignoring their indignant shouts and settling on a home improvement show that he knew would help Steve drift off into sleep again. 

The two grumbled but soon were suckered in, discussing the things the improvements they agreed on and those that they didn’t, talking about what they would do differently and better. As Danny expected, the combination of the show and the comfort of Tani and Junior’s voices helped Steve finally slip into sleep again. The one thing he hadn’t counted on was that he would fall to sleep, as well.

\--

When Danny woke the TV was off, the tray that had sat beside him gone from the bed. The kids had left, but not before cleaning up around him and Steve and covering them with a throw blanket that was usually in the hall closet. A glance at Steve showed that he was still sound asleep, brow furrowed in what he hoped was neither pain nor nightmare, though he had a sinking feeling that it was. 

With a deep sigh he rolled out of bed, finally taking time to hit the bathroom and change into something more comfortable, eventually going through his phone and answering text messages from the group and Grace. She had wanted to come and see Steve as soon as he was home, but since Danny'd had the feeling Steve would be too loopy that day, they had made plans for her and Charlie to come over tomorrow. And since it would be a friday on his weekend, and she would get to see Steve all weekend and make sure that he was okay, Grace had agreed to it.

Walking back into the room Danny checked Steve’s temperature, gently running his hand down the other man's face; he kissed his forehead and went to leave the room, stopping at the groggy plea of his name. Turning to Steve he saw that he was awake, a look of such devastation on his face that Danny immediately went back to his side. 

“What is it, Steve? Are you hurting?” Danny asked, already running thinking of where everything was in the kitchen and what would be the fastest route to getting Steve what he needed.

“Stay with me, please.” Steve begged, his hands latched onto Danny’s clothes in a tight grip. The tears that Danny saw pooled in Steve’s eyes spurred him into action.

“I’m here, babe, I’m not going anywhere.” Danny promised, gently prying himself free of Steve’s grip so he could climb back into bed with him. The moment he did Steve reattached himself, fingers tangled in his tee and legs entwined with his. 

Steve buried his head in Danny’s neck, breathing shakily. “Please stay, Danny…”

“I will, Steve, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” Danny soothed, running his fingers through Steve’s hair. “I’m here, Steve. I promise.” 

Steve took another shuddering breathe before settling, slowly falling back into sleep. Danny continued to hold him, continued his soothing touch and hoped that his next dream would be a good one. And if it wasn’t, Danny would be there, holding Steve in his arms and ready to soothe away his fears with his love. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh, loopy goofy Steve for the win, guys! Let me know what you think? :)


End file.
